Going to the polls in the Ländle

Facts and oddities about the Vorarlberg state elections

The Vorarlberg state parliament has just 36 members - people in Vorarlberg like to be economical.

(Bild: sos)

The new state parliament will be elected in Vorarlberg on Sunday. Apart from the early closing of the polling stations, there are other - sometimes quite abstruse - peculiarities in the region.

In Vorarlberg, the last polling stations will close at 1 pm today - in no other federal state will the ballot be completed so quickly. But there are also other special features:

• Voters: 
  A total of 271,882 Vorarlberg residents are eligible to vote in today's state election. 455 of them live abroad. The most people entitled to vote are in Vorarlberg's most populous city, Dornbirn, with 33,610 men and women. The votes in Dünserberg and Warth should be counted the quickest - there are only 115 eligible voters in each.

• Ballot papers:
  In contrast to the National Council elections, the ballot paper is automatically sent home with the election information. Citizens who cast their vote at the polling station can bring it with them or receive a new one on site. 

• Postal voting:
  The state parliament election law regulates exactly who may cast their vote by postal ballot. Reasons include absence, being abroad or illness. "Sleeping in is a fun reason and does not count," emphasizes Martina Schönherr, Head of "Department 1a Home Affairs and Security" at the Landhaus. "Hiking", on the other hand, counts as an "alibi", as hobby athletes are usually absent from the area.

• "Flying election authority":
  "The name no longer exists, but the tasks do," explains Vorarlberg's chief electoral officer. If a voter who is unable to go to the polling station for health reasons requests a visit from the special electoral authority, the poll workers come to their home. Every municipality must allow this form of voting. However, the request must be received by Friday afternoon at the latest.

• Serving alcohol:
  In all likelihood, there will be plenty of partying before the polling stations close in Lustenau. This is because Vorarlberg's biggest folk festival, the "Luschnouar Kilbi", is taking place there. Mayor Kurt Fischer should have found enough helpers by now. "As I'm from Lustenau myself, I'll feel sorry for them," says Martina Schönherr. However, as this is not the first time that the "Kilbi" has coincided with a ballot, she assumes that the election in Austria's largest market town will run smoothly. "Many, many years ago, there was a paragraph in the electoral law that prohibited the serving of alcoholic beverages at polling stations," says the lawyer. But that was a long time ago. And even if alcoholic voters are allowed to cast their vote - as long as they don't get rowdy and disrupt the election process - Schönherr recommends that they perhaps cast their vote before the morning pub.

• Election results:
  The first major trends should already be recognizable at 2 pm, i.e. one hour after the polling stations close. A provisional final result is expected between 6 and 7 pm. It is likely to take until Tuesday before the preferential votes are counted and it is clear who will enter the state parliament.